The instant invention relates to a single station anatomical section de-boning machine operable by one individual wherein said machine provides a meat de-boning product output capability intermediate those of other currently available single or dual station de-boning machines and that of the high-speed multi-station anatomical section de-boning machine as taught by instant applicant's previous co-inventive disclosure recited in U.S. Pat. No. 4,041,572 dated Aug. 16, 1977, to Martin et al, further wherein, although as to be hereinafter more fully detailed being both mechanically and operationally distinguished from said other currently available single and/or dual station and multi-station de-boning machines it is to be understood the machine of the instant invention does utilize generally that meat removal method as taught by said applicant's previous co-inventive disclosure above-cited. It is also to be understood that the instant invention pertains to a single station machine for automatically de-boning appendicular anatomical sections of small edible animals such as rabbits, and fowl of various types which would include but not necessarily be limited to old and young chickens, turkeys, geese, ducks and guineas, or an appendicular section of any small edible animal wherein said section is anatomically characterized by having a centrally extending elongated meat encased bone shaft and at the respective longitudinal ends thereof a ball or a socket structure comprising the ball or socket parts of a ball-and-socket joint, exemplary only of which appendicular anatomical sections would be the thigh or upper arm wing sections of domesticated poultry or the like, to further include also drumstick sections of various fowl as aforedescribed.
The continually expanding convenience food market has further increased a need for highly reliable automated high product output machine capabilities for delivering various foodstuffs, not the least of which are de-boned chicken parts to provide an economy item popular for utility in both ease of preparation and service, as well as providing specialty poultry pieces for commercially prepared food service or restaurant menu features, or retail sales features of loose or packaged fresh or frozen all-meat pieces, or packaged pre-cooked convenience meal preparations.
Inherent to the handling and processing of anatomical sections, such as in de-boning operations, however, even with preclassified configuration, weight, and dimension segregation of a particular anatomical section item into a processing batch, to thereby facilitate machine handling thereof in providing processed product to meet growing demands, because of the practical differential range within various of the foregoing classification criteria, the limiting effects of which become more pronounced and critical as one attempts to increase the machine speed in automated handling and processing thereof, an optimum for balance of machine capability in terms of capital, maintenance, and manning costs versus net consummably acceptable product output so as to achieve an optimum processing cost per unit of processed product output evolves, in the case of immediate consideration being those cost factors resultant in the processing and delivery of a bone fragment free de-boned anatomical section.
Primarily, because of the anatomical section physical variation characteristics, coupled with continuing and increasing stringency of requirements for producing de-boned meat items substantially without either scraped or broken bone fragment contamination therein, the initial and many current anatomical section de-boning machine devices remain limited to various relatively low output manual and/or a combination of manual and relatively simple power operated single or dual station mechanical means for accomplishing separation of meat from bone. Exemplary of prior art teachings of the foregoing type, for the combined manual and manually operated mechanical removal of meat from appendicular anatomical sections as heretofore characterized would be those as set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 3,192,557 to Segur, dated July 6, 1965, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,629,903 to Turner, dated Dec. 28, 1971, wherein both the aforementioned disclosures teach static fixtures which are employed to facilitate the manual removal of meat. The teaching of U.S. Pat. No. 3,510,908 to Segur et al, dated May 12, 1970, discloses the use of static fixtures in combination with clamping jaws assembled to a piston-driven retractable carriage to accomplish powered mechanical removal of meat. Another U.S. Pat. No. 3,216,056 to Segur, dated Nov. 9, 1965, teaches an apparatus employing a pair of elongated spring arms which have notched ends that converge toward each other to plow the meat from poultry legs as the connected bones thereof are mechanically pulled relative to a complementary stationary meat removal plowing means. In a subsequent disclosure by Segur as taught in his U.S. Pat. No. 3,348,261 dated Oct. 24, 1967, a meat removal method embodying the foregoing apparatus accomplishes plowable removal of meat from a raw poultry leg after the meat thereon has been longitudinally sliced to the bone along at least one side thereof.
Machines providing automated anatomical section de-boning product output capabilities intermediate those of the relatively simple single and dual station machines above, and the previous co-inventive high-speed multi-station de-boning machine teaching of instant applicant in U.S. Pat. No. 4,041,572 would include those as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,261,054 to Kaplan et al, dated July 19, 1966, for removal of meat from pre-cooked poultry legs therein utilizing the cooperative mechanical action of strippers bars activated by rotating cams upon passage of the joint between a thigh and lower leg of that leg section being processed, and a later teaching likewise by Kaplan et al in U.S. Pat. No. 3,965,535 dated June 29, 1976, also for stripping meat from precooked poultry legs by the cooperative action of three rotating discs operating upon a poultry leg section being pulled therethrough. Other de-boning machines in the intermediate product output capability category would include the teaching of Bergstrom et al in U.S. Pat. No. 2,897,536 dated Aug. 4, 1959, employing the use of pairs of stripping rolls which engage the meat of a poultry leg while the leg is transported along by an endless chain engaging one end of the leg bone. In another co-inventive do-boning machine teaching by your instant applicant, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,672,000 to Martin et al, dated June 27, 1972, there is shown automated removal of the bone from poultry thigh sections by mechanically engaging and then by means of engagement of the thigh section by stripping blades, whereby the longitudinally movement thereof effects a removal of the meat from the bone.
Certain other anatomical section de-boning techniques, and the machinery therefor, are also shown by the prior art among which would be clamp-and-pull extraction de-boning as taught by Messengill in U.S. Pat. No. 2,932,060 dated Apr. 12, 1960, shear-cut de-boning as taught by Segur et al in U.S. Pat. No. 3,483,591 dated Dec. 16, 1969, and water jet de-boning as taught by Tonjum et al in U.S. Pat. No. 3,581,337 dated June 1, 1971.
The device of instant invention also utilizes scissor blade tendon severing means to effect positive cutting of any meat-to-bone connecting tendon tissue that may remain after primary meat removal operations, being functionally similar to but structurally and operationally distinguished from those scissor blade poultry processing devices respectively taught in U.S. Pat. No. 3,115,667 to Lis et al dated Dec. 31, 1963, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,816,874 to Jahnke dated June 18, 1974.
It should be understood that some of the features of the instant invention have, in some respects, various structural and functional similarities, in accomplishment of the anatomical section de-boning method of instant applicant's previous teaching in U.S. Pat. No. 4,041,572, to certain of the mechanical teachings separately set forth in the prior art disclosures heretofore cited and briefly discussed. However, as will hereinafter be specifically pointed out, the instant invention is distinguishable from said earlier inventions in one or more ways in that the present invention has structural embodiments to provide not only utility features but also new and useful advantages and improvements in the art of single station anatomical de-boning machines and enhancing net consummably acceptable substantially bone fragment free product output therefrom by means not heretofore known.